Electroindustry Business Conditions Index

​The EBCI indexes are based on the results of a monthly survey of senior managers at NEMA member companies and are designed to provide a measure of changes in the business environment facing electrical equipment manufacturers.

December 2011

Results from NEMA’s latest business conditions survey show the flagship Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions exceeded 50 points in December – with more respondents reporting conditions improved relative to the previous month than reporting they declined – for a third consecutive month. The survey’s measure of the intensity of change in conditions, meanwhile, indicated no change in the business environment from November. Confidence in future conditions climbed to a seven month high. Full Report

November 2011

Results from NEMA’s latest business conditions survey showed the economic environment facing the North American electroindustry improved for a second straight month in November. Though the Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions slipped to 56 from 57.4 in the previous month, it nonetheless cleared the 50 mark above which more panelists than not see an improvement in the business environment. Full Report

October 2011

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) indicated that conditions facing the North American electroindustry improved on balance in October, climbing to 57.4 from 50 in September. The latest month was the first since May in which the index exceeded the 50-point "growth threshold." Nearly 30% of survey panelists reported an improvement in conditions in October compared to the previous month while slightly fewer than 15% experienced worsening conditions. In September, just as many panelists – 20% – reported conditions improved as reported conditions deteriorated. Full Report

September 2011

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) indicated that conditions facing the North American electroindustry stabilized in September, after signaling deterioration in each of the three previous months. Just as many survey panelists – 20% – reported conditions improved from August to September as reported conditions worsened. The rest of the panel – 60% – reported conditions were unchanged. A month ago nearly 21% reported an improvement against about 38% reporting a decline. Thus, the EBCI for current North American conditions climbed nearly 9 from August to reach 50 in September. Full Report

August 2011

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index for current North American conditions gained ground in August, but remained below levels suggestive of industry-wide expansion for a third straight month. The index climbed to 41.4, up 9.4 points from its July reading. Nearly 21% of survey panelists reported that the economic environment facing the industry in North America improved in August, up from only 8% a month ago. Meanwhile, approximately 38% of panelists reported conditions deteriorated. A plurality of the panel – just over 41% – saw business conditions unchanged in August compared to July. Full Report

June 2011

Results from NEMA's latest electroindustry confidence survey echo those of numerous other economic data releases of late, indicating the business environment facing the industry has hit a soft patch but one that is expected to prove temporary. NEMA's Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions slipped to 45.5 in June, dropping below the 50-point growth threshold for the first time since October 2010. The index had climbed as high as 69.6 as recently as February 2011, prior to a sharp run-up in oil prices and Japans earthquake and tsunami. Full Report

July 2011

The broad economic slowdown of recent months continued to affect the electrical manufacturing sector in July. Forty-four percent (44%) of respondents to NEMA’s latest Electroindustry Business Confidence Survey reported that the economic environment facing the industry in North America deteriorated in the most recent month, up from 36% in June and 23% in May. Only 8% reported conditions were better than a month ago in July, down from 27% in both May and June. A plurality of the panel – 48% – saw business conditions unchanged in July compared to June.Full Report

May 2011

NEMA's Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions topped the 50 point mark for the seventh consecutive month in May, signaling continued improvement in the business environment. Nonetheless, the EBCI has slipped over the last few months as the share of panelists reporting improvements has trended downward while the share reporting declines has trended upward. The index measured 52.3 in May, down from 57.1 in April, and from a year-to-date high of 69.6 in February. Full Report

April 2011

The results from NEMA’s latest monthly survey of senior member company executives finds that business conditions improved for the sixth month in a row in April. The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions measured 57.1. While down slightly from the 60.9 mark recorded in March, a reading above 50 indicates more panelists reported better conditions compared to the previous month than reported worse conditions. Full Report

March 2011

Senior executives at NEMA member companies reported that, on balance, business conditions facing their firms improved for a fifth consecutive month in March. The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions measured 60.9. Any reading above 50 indicates more panelists reported better conditions compared to the previous month than reported worse conditions. Full Report

February 2011

The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions – derived from a survey of senior industry executives – climbed to 69.6 in February, up 6 points from January’s reading of 63.6. The index has topped 60 points in each of the last four months, indicating a sustained improvement in the economic environment facing a broad cross-section of electrical equipment manufacturers. A reading above 50 indicates more panelists reported better conditions compared to the previous month than reported worse conditions. Full Report

January 2011

The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American business conditions continued to point to a broadly improving business environment in January. The index measured 63.6, down slightly from December’s 68, but near the high end of the range of readings recorded since the beginning of the third quarter of 2010. A reading above 50 indicates more panelists reported conditions improved compared to the previous month than reported they worsened. Full Report